Bourassa

Bourassa is an urban riding in the northern part of the Island of Montreal, encompassing nearly all of the borough of Montréal-Nord and the eastern portion of the neighbourhood of Sault-au-Récollet in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. Bounded by the Rivière des Prairies to the north and west, the riding is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse constituencies in Quebec. The population of approximately 106,000 is strikingly multicultural—roughly 45% identify as white, 29% as Black, 12% as Arab, and 7% as Latin American. French remains the most common mother tongue at about 48%, followed by Arabic, Haitian Creole, and Spanish. The riding has the highest concentration of residents of Haitian origin of any federal riding in Canada, at over 20%.

Candidates

Emmanuel Dubourg (Liberal) — Born in Saint-Marc, Haiti, in 1958, Dubourg emigrated to Canada in 1974 and earned a master's degree in business administration from the Université du Québec à Montréal. A chartered accountant, he spent twenty years in the federal public service, notably leading a team tasked with uncovering the underground economy at Revenue Canada. He also taught at UQAM, UQO, and Cégep Montmorency. Dubourg served as a Quebec Liberal member of the National Assembly for Viau from 2007 to 2013 before winning a federal by-election in Bourassa in November 2013. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue from 2015 to 2017.

Ardo Dia (Bloc Québécois) — A researcher specializing in African politics and international security, Dia holds two master's degrees—in political science from the Université de Montréal and in international public law from the Université de Nouakchott in Mauritania—as well as a bachelor's degree in education from Laurentian University. He is the author of two published volumes on international security. He had briefly worked in Dubourg's campaign office in 2015.

Nicholas Ponari (NDP) — Ponari represented the New Democratic Party in the riding.

Ilyasa Sykes (Conservative) — Sykes carried the Conservative Party banner in Bourassa.

About the Riding

Bourassa is named for Henri Bourassa, the early twentieth-century journalist, politician, and founder of Le Devoir newspaper. The riding has been a Liberal stronghold for decades, reflecting the party's traditional strength in multicultural Montreal ridings—particularly those with large immigrant communities.

Montréal-Nord, which forms the core of the riding, has been shaped by successive waves of immigration—Italian families in the mid-twentieth century, followed by large Haitian, North African, and Latin American communities from the 1960s onward. The Haitian community, in particular, has deep roots here, with the neighbourhood serving as a cultural centre for Montreal's Haitian diaspora. Community organizations, churches, and cultural institutions catering to these communities are integral to the riding's social fabric.

The riding faces persistent socioeconomic challenges. Parts of Montréal-Nord have some of the lowest median household incomes in the Montreal metropolitan area, and concerns about affordable housing, youth employment, gun violence, and access to public services have been recurring themes in local political discourse. The borough's relative geographic isolation—separated from central Montreal by industrial zones and limited transit connections—has compounded these issues. Despite these challenges, the community's cultural vitality and civic engagement remain strong, and voter participation in Bourassa has consistently reflected residents' desire for responsive federal representation.